Space
Across various philosophical traditions, the concept of “space” is expressed through different words that reflect distinct underlying ideas, often oscillating between notions of place and extension, or void and plenum.
Western Philosophical Traditions
- Ancient Greek Philosophy: The Greeks used several terms, often with nuanced meanings:
- Chōra (χώρα): Often translated as “space,” “receptacle,” or “nurse.” Plato, in the Timaeus, described chōra as a formless medium that receives all generated things, a “place” where matter comes to be.
- Topos (τόπος): Generally means “place” or specific “location.” For Aristotle, topos was the place of a body, defined as the inner surface of its surrounding container, a relational concept contrasting with a void.
- Kenon (κενόν): The “void” or “empty” space. The Atomists (Democritus, Epicurus) posited an infinite kenon in which atoms move, a necessary condition for motion. Parmenides famously denied its existence, arguing the cosmos was a plenum (full).
- Diastêma (διάστημα): Means “distance” or “interval,” often referring to spatial extension between bodies or points.
- Latin/Roman Philosophy:
- Spatium: The Latin term that evolved into the modern English “space,” originally denoting “distance” or “region” and expanding to cover the “void” extent that allows for motion.
- Locus: The Latin equivalent of topos, meaning “place”.
- Modern Western Philosophy:
- Absolute Space: Term introduced by Sir Isaac Newton to describe an infinite, uniform, immovable, and real entity that exists independently of any objects within it.
- Relational Space: Advocated by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who argued that space is not an entity itself but merely the order of relations among objects.
- A priori form of intuition: Immanuel Kant’s revolutionary concept, where space is a fundamental, innate structure of the human mind that organizes sensory experience, rather than an objective reality or a property of things in themselves.
- Extension: René Descartes defined space as synonymous with bodily extension (res extensa), implying there could be no empty space. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Eastern Philosophical
Traditions Eastern traditions, such as Indian and Chinese philosophies, also explore spatial concepts, often integrating them with notions of consciousness, relationship, and order:
- Indian Philosophy (Vedanta, Samkhya, Jainism, Nyaya, Buddhism): These traditions emphasize subjective and situational dimensions of space, often relating it to consciousness and the self. Specific technical terms exist within each school, though a single direct translation equivalent to the Western ‘space’ is difficult.
- Chinese Philosophy (Classical Daoism, Neo-Confucianism): Spatial concepts in these traditions often relate to the underlying principles of the universe (e.g., the Dao) and the relationships that order reality. [10, 11, 12, 13, 14]
Contemporary Philosophy • Social Space: A modern term used in fields like critical theory and sociology (e.g., Foucault, Harvey, Lefebvre), referring to the geographical area where social groups live, or the subjective and social relations that define an area.
- Proxemics: Coined by anthropologist Edward T. Hall, this term describes the cultural study of human spatial behavior and the perception of “personal space”. [15, 16, 17, 18, 19]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://rethinkingspaceandplace.com/2019/09/12/place-and-space-a-philosophical-history/
[2] https://www.planksip.org/the-philosophy-of-space-and-philosophy-1760285889815/
[3] https://academic.oup.com/book/36937/chapter/322215715
[4] https://www.planksip.org/the-philosophy-of-space-and-philosophy-1761381128007/
[5] https://www.planksip.org/the-philosophy-of-space-and-philosophy-1760285889815/
[6] https://rethinkingspaceandplace.com/2019/09/09/back-to-the-origins-of-space-and-place/
[7] wikipedia/en/Philosophy_of_space_and_time
[8] wikipedia/en/Eastern_philosophy
[9] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-39140-9_6
[10] https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1576&context=ccr
[11] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samkhya
[12] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nyaya
[14] wikipedia/en/Jain_philosophy
[15] https://scispace.com/pdf/audience-participation-and-public-discourse-space-a-simple-4mijz35olw.pdf
[16] https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/55539/what-does-focault-mean-by-space
[17] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/proxemics
[18] https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/ethno/2002-v24-n1-ethno522/006529ar/
[19] https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100515480
Words for empty space across philosophical traditions include Śūnyatā (Buddhism), referring to “emptiness” or “voidness” as a fundamental concept of reality; Wuji (Taoism), the “undifferentiated state” from which all things emerge; Void (Greek philosophy, often associated with Democritus’ atoms); and Tzimtzum (Kabbalah), a “contraction” of divinity to create space for creation. Other terms include Brahman or Parabrahmam (Vedanta) for the ultimate reality that is often described as “no-thing,” and ‘anatta’ or “not-self” in Buddhism, which relates to the emptiness of a permanent self.
East Asian traditions
- Śūnyatā (Buddhism): Generally translated as “emptiness” or “voidness” (from the Sanskrit śūnya), it is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism that points to the emptiness of all phenomena, not as nothingness, but as the lack of inherent, independent existence.
- Wuji (Taoism): The “undifferentiated state” or “limitless,” it represents the primordial, formless state before the emergence of the dualistic world (Taijitu).
- Ma (Japanese): While often translated as “negative space,” in a deeper sense, it can refer to the concept of emptiness in a way that emphasizes its importance and function within a whole, as seen in traditional Japanese art and design.
Western traditions
- Void (Ancient Greek): Associated with philosophers like Democritus, who posited that the void was the necessary empty space in which atoms could move to create matter.
- Plenum (Medieval/Early Modern): The belief, articulated by thinkers like Aristotle and Descartes, that space could not be truly empty, arguing that “nature abhors a vacuum” (horror vacui).
- Absolute Space (Newtonian): In contrast to the plenum, Newton argued for the existence of an absolute, true, and mathematical space that exists independently of any matter within it.
- Tzimtzum (Kabbalah/Judaism): A concept of divine “contraction” or “withdrawal” of the infinite God (Ein Sof) to create a space for the world and finite creation to exist.
South Asian traditions
- Brahman / Parabrahmam (Vedanta): The ultimate reality, often described in the Upanishads and other texts in ways that point to a state beyond conventional existence, sometimes understood as “no-thing” or “neti neti” (not this, not that).
- Anatta (Buddhism): The doctrine of “no-self,” which posits the emptiness of a permanent, unchanging self, is a key component of the broader Buddhist concept of emptiness, Śūnyatā.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.wisdomlib.org/concept/empty-space
[2] wikipedia/en/The_Void_(philosophy)
[3] https://fiveable.me/key-terms/introduction-hinduism/emptiness
[5] https://medium.com/illumination/emptiness-in-buddhism-and-judaism-34e6d47840c8
[6] https://kyotojournal.org/culture-arts/ma-place-space-void/
[7] wikipedia/en/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81
[8] wikipedia/en/The_Void_(philosophy)
[9] https://strategicmatters.com.au/the-art-of-embracing-the-void/
[10] wikipedia/en/Nothing
[11] https://btg.krishna.com/space-a-meditation/
A homogeneous space is a mathematical concept describing a space where every point is indistinguishable from any other point under the action of a group of symmetries. In contrast, a qualified space is an engineering term for a component that has been manufactured and tested to meet the specific standards required for use in a spacecraft. The two terms come from entirely different fields—pure mathematics versus aerospace engineering—and have no relation to each other.
Homogeneous space (Mathematics)
- Definition: A manifold or topological space that has a transitive action of a group, meaning any point can be moved to any other point by the group’s action.
- Key idea: The space “looks the same everywhere”.
- Examples: Euclidean space, spheres, and projective spaces are all homogeneous spaces because they have a high degree of symmetry. For instance, a sphere is homogeneous because you can rotate it to move any point to any other point.
- Relationship to groups: A homogeneous space can be represented as the quotient space of a Lie group $(G)$ by a closed subgroup $(K) ((G/K))$.
- Definition: A component that has been certified to meet the rigorous performance, reliability, and safety standards for use in a space mission.
- Key idea: The component is ready for flight and is guaranteed to function correctly in the harsh environment of space.
- Examples: A specific circuit board, a sensor, or a structural bracket for a satellite might be “space qualified” after undergoing extensive testing.
- Process: Certification is a formal process, often involving approval from an organization like NASA, to ensure a component is fit for its intended use.
Summary table
| Feature | Homogeneous Space | Qualified Space |
|---|---|---|
| Field | Pure Mathematics | Aerospace Engineering |
| Meaning | A space with a high degree of symmetry, where every point is the same as every other point under a group action | A component that has been tested and certified to meet the standards for spaceflight |
| Key Concept | Transitive group action | Manufacturing and testing standards |
| Example | A sphere | A specific bolt or sensor used on a satellite |
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] wikipedia/en/Homogeneous_space
[3] https://mathworld.wolfram.com/HomogeneousSpace.html
[6] https://www.everythingrf.com/browse/space-qualified-components